Trump’s Infrastructure Plan: Measuring Its Impacts

The current administration is yet to announce its plans to rebuild and improve infrastructure across the nation. Even so, leaks and snippets from various sources are already circulating through several news outlets. As with other Trump policies, there are a lot of pros and cons about the infrastructure plan.

Leaks and snippets aside, a big infrastructure spending policy – such as the one Trump has been calling for through the campaign – can have a big impact on the economy and the nation as a whole. This impact is just as interesting to observe as the leaks mentioned earlier.

The Infrastructure Incentives Initiative

If the leaks are any indication of the actual infrastructure plan, the majority of funding will go towards a program known as the Infrastructure Incentives Initiative. According to multiple sources, up to 50% of funds available for infrastructure will go towards this grant.

The Infrastructure Incentives Initiative is a program designed to encourage states to invest in infrastructure. States will work with experts from different entities such as the New Jersey Institute of Technology in proposing infrastructure programs to qualify for the financial aid. This means even students currently studying for their civil engineering degree at NJIT Online and other top universities will be able to contribute more to this sector.

The federal government will then select programs to receive the government aid and cover up to 20% of the projects’ costs using the Infrastructure Incentives Initiative fund. It is a way to amplify government spending on infrastructure, making sense of Trump’s plan to turn a 200-billion budget into a 1-trillion infrastructure spending across the country.

Rural Infrastructure Program

Another interesting program that will be part of the infrastructure plan is Rural Infrastructure Program. As the name suggests, this program is geared towards accelerating infrastructure growth in rural areas. It is a way to ensure a balance between urban and rural areas across the country.

The Rural Infrastructure Program uses a more complicated formula to determine funding allocation. This formula will greatly depend on the budget, so we have to wait until the actual plan is released to know more about how the government plans to develop rural areas.

Transformative Projects Program

The most interesting part of the leaks so far is the Transformative Projects Program. Transformative Projects Program will receive up to 10% of the total infrastructure budget. The main purpose of this program is to encourage innovation and ground-breaking projects.

According to sources, projects such as Elon Musk’s Hyperloop are strong candidates for the financial aid. The program will look for new developments and projects that are ahead of their time, particularly those that bring a lot of real benefits to the communities around them.

As mentioned before, the amount of funds the Transformative Projects Program receives is said to be around 10%, which is a substantial amount nonetheless. Considering the infrastructure budget is set at 200 billion, Transformative Projects Program alone will have 20 billion to spend on innovative projects.

These programs have a combined impact that is worth anticipating. It will not be long before the actual plan is announced and programs are set in motion.